A/N: So sorry it took me so long to update, but this chapter has been a pain for me! I wrote it once, and hated it unbelievably much (my beta reader didn't like it either; if two people don't like it, something has to be wrong, right?) This is the second attempt to write a decent chapter. I like it a lot more than the first version which felt extremely out of place, and hopefully, you will like it too :D
Once again, I would like to thank everyone who has alerted, favorited and taken the time to review my story! It makes me happy, and I really appreciate it!
Disclaimer: I think I'm gonna stop adding those... We all know I do *not* own the slightest bit of Frozen. Not even a snowflake...
~MagicOfDisney: Glad you liked it! Let's hope you'll enjoy this one too :P
~TSO: Thanks! I liked your idea of adding a bit of ice in that scene, but having Elsa throwing it felt kinda weird for some reason. Again, thanks for your help on this chapter!
~Awesome (Guest): I know what you mean about being on a Frozen rampage! I go through these more often than I'd like to admit. A lot more often :P Plus, after watching it for the third time on the cinema (and I'll admit that I am guilty of owning a downloaded copy too, which I watch at least once every couple of days), I thought my obsession would fade. But nope. I still love it! :P I'm so happy you liked the previous chapter; and the whole story actually! It means a lot!
~Guest: Thank you!
~lightning1997: Thanks :) I just hope the relationship between them and the interactions between the characters are believable!
~Cupid Cutie 95: Aaw thank you! Keep reading :D
~FrozenAddict15: Thank you! Glad you like it!

11.

"Prince Hans of the Southern Isles and his 'friends' are to be brought to the castle immediately. Use force, but do not kill anyone."

The head guard had read the queen's orders, and everyone had been quick to obey. Not knowing exactly what to expect, and not having been given any extra information by Elsa, they deployed all the ships they had at their disposal,both to outnumber the enemies and to have enough room to hold them captive until their return to the castle.

"How many do you think there are?" asked one of the guards as he looked to the horizon. Two Viking ships were already visible.

"I don't know; but we better be prepared for anything. Those people don't joke around," replied another one.

"The queen said not to kill anyone, though."

"She did, but what the queen doesn't know won't hurt her."

"Are you saying we should kill them?" The man was shocked by his fellow guard's words.

"Not all of them, of course. But don't you think we need some actual action around here? Everything is just so... Quiet."

"I say we had plenty of action when she froze the fjords last year."

"True... but still, the thrill of a good battle always excites me. It's part of why I joined the Guard; though we rarely have any good battles in Arendelle."

"I think the last big battle Arendelle saw was when the king went against the Vikings like— what? Six years before Queen Elsa was born? I always wondered why, given that the Vikings were under his reign."

"Were you part of the Guard back then?" asked the second, seemingly much younger guard.

"I was. I had just started a few months before, and it was my first time in the battlefield. It was insane; I had never seen a battle like that in my life. It started at sea, but it soon spread over the entire kingdom, land or not." The younger guard let out a sound of awe.

"I wish I was there..." he said, imagining what it would be like to be part of something like that.

"No, you don't," replied the other man. "Many people were injured, even more were killed, and Arendelle was not the same after that. Some of the people turned against the king for attacking the Vikings; there was even an assassination attempt not long after."

"Assassination attempt?" Asked the younger guard surprised. "I've never heard of this before. Someone actually tried to kill the king?"

"Both the king and the queen. People don't talk about it nowadays, though. If you bring it up, they'll probably pretend you didn't say anything."

"What happened to the man?"

"It was a woman actually; pretty young, too. She was captured and sentenced to death; executed a couple of weeks later. I had heard talk at the time that the attempt had nothing to do with the war against the Vikings, though." The older guard's words had completely engrossed the younger one's attention.

"Really? Why then?" He asked.

"Where were you at the time?" asked the older guard before answering.

"I was in Corona. Born and raised. I came here about three years ago," he answered.

"Ahh, I see. No wonder you have no idea what was going on here well over twenty years ago," noted the other man and continued, "Some said that the king had a secret affair with the girl. Of course, not a lot of the people believed that, since the king seemed to adore his wife, but there were always rumors flying around. Some even said that the girl was a witch of some sort, and that on the day of her execution, she cursed the king and his family," the man spoke as if he had told the same story countless times and it no longer seemed entertaining to him. The other man, however, had an entirely different opinion.

"Wow..." He muttered. "Do you think— Do you think that's why Queen Elsa is... Well, the way she is?" he asked in a low voice, as if he didn't want anyone to overhear.

"I don't know. I don't even know if any of this is true; but if it is, I guess it's a possibility."

"We're almost there!" The voice of the head guard interrupted the conversation. "Everyone, be prepared! As per Queen Elsa's orders, we are to kill nobody; only to capture and transport everyone back to the castle. Do not make me report you. Be cautious, those men are wild as beasts; they will not hesitate to try and kill you. Guard each other as well as yourselves and everything will be alright. Remember, we outnumber them. We use that to our advantage, and we are sure to win." The rest of the guards nodded their heads in agreement, and turned to face the Viking ships.

Kristoff's head was spinning and aching, and hard as he tried, he could not go to sleep. His mind never stopped thinking about Anna, and all he wanted to do was be by her side, holding her hand, telling her how much he loved her. The young man couldn't believe what had happened; at moments like this one, the 'perfect ring' and the 'perfect proposal' seemed so unimportant and trivial. He shut his eyes one more time in a desperate attempt to rest. If he wanted to leave at dawn, like Elsa had advised him, he had to get some shut-eye. Turning around in the bed, he vainly tried to get a bit more comfortable.

Sighing, Kristoff threw the covers off him and got up. There was no way he was going to sleep that night, so he might as well go back to his Troll family. He opened the door and walked down the hall, being as quiet as he could, not wanting to disturb or worry the queen. As he passed Anna's room, he looked at the shut door. 'I'm going to save you, Anna. You'll see. Everything is going to be fine.' he thought, letting out another sigh and kept walking. As soon as he stepped his foot to the castle grounds, he felt like someone was watching him. He quickly dismissed the feeling, convincing himself it was nothing but his imagination, and he made his way to the gates. The majority of the guards had left on a mission to capture Hans and the Vikings, which meant that the castle was not as heavily guarded. Approaching the main gate, Kristoff was stopped by the two guards.

"Nobody is allowed outside the castle gates; queen's orders," informed one of the guards.

"I have to leave," said the young ice harvester. "Queen's orders," he added.

"Nobody is allowed outside the castle," repeated the man, punctuating every word.

"Look, I have to go! Princess Anna is in great danger! If I don't bring help, she could die!" exclaimed a very frustrated Kristoff, trying not to yell too much to a royal guard.

"Let him go." came a voice from behind them.

"Queen Elsa!" The two guards bowed before the young queen. "He—"

"Open the gates and let him go," said Elsa sternly.

"As you wish, your majesty," replied one of the guards and unlocked the gate.

"I thought you were leaving at dawn," said Elsa as she walked with Kristoff.

"I was; but I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking of Anna."

"She's going to be okay... She has to be..." There was a bitter tone in the young queen's voice.

"Anna will be up and running in no time," said Kristoff and Elsa chuckled a little, thinking of how her sister used to run around the halls, singing and dancing. "How is she?" asked the man.

"She's sleeping," answered the queen. "I— I couldn't stay in there any longer. Seeing her like that; it— it really hurts..." A single tear made its way down her face, but she wiped it before Kristoff could notice it. "She woke up for a while," she added after a moment of silence and the man's breath got caught in his throat. Her waking up meant that she still had strength, but also that she was going to be aware of what was happening to her; and that was not good.

"Did she- Did she talk to you?" he asked.

"She did," nodded Elsa. "She... She asked what was wrong with her and how much time she has left," the young queen tried to keep her voice from cracking. Having her little sister asking something like that felt like needles piercing her heart.

"She has all the time in the world," said Kristoff and gently rubbed Elsa's back. A year ago, he couldn't imagine that he would end up being so close to someone, especially the queen and the princess. The awkwardness between him and Elsa was still evident, but she was the queen; no one felt really comfortable around her; except, of course, Anna.

"You have to go," muttered the young queen after a while. "You!" she said looking at one of the guards. "I want you to go with him; make sure he returns safe and sound."

"I can protect myself..." protested the man.

"You promised you'll take one guard with you... For Anna..." Elsa reminded him, and he sighed.

"I know," he replied and added; "I'm gonna prepare Sven." The girl nodded.

"Hurry back," she said.

"Don't worry, I will," Kristoff managed a small smile, and the queen smiled slightly as well. They had to keep a positive attitude if they wanted to survive through everything that was happening.

As she walked back inside the castle grounds, Elsa noticed someone hiding behind one of the fountains. It was none other than Olaf, who was trying very hard, albeit unsuccessfully, not to be seen. The young queen approached him slowly.

"Go with him," she said, looking at the snowman with warm eyes and a small smile on her face. "He will need someone to talk to, and I doubt that the guard will be willing to chat," she added. For a brief moment, Olaf was left staring at the queen. When that moment passed however, he got out of his hiding place and ran after Kristoff, yelling his name. Elsa's smile grew just a tad bigger as she watched the small snowman running as fast as he could to catch up with Kristoff; she then turned around and strode back inside, her spirits a bit higher than they were before.

She made her way back to her sister's bedroom, passing people in the hallways and receiving all kinds of looks. Some of the people seemed kind and compassionate, a few even tried to talk and comfort her; but others looked at her resentfully, blaming her once again for what had happened. Elsa tried to block everything out, walking with her head held high, just like she was taught she should. No matter how much it pained her to see her people's faith dwindling, she had to be strong; or at least appear to be. The young queen let out a sigh as she entered Anna's bedroom and shut the door behind her. Leaning against it, she shut her eyes, a single tear escaping her lids. She quickly regained her composure; standing up straight, she wiped away the tear and approached the bed, her eyes never leaving the princess's sleeping form. Elsa eyed the empty chair next to the bed before not choosing to sit on it, favoring the edge of the bed like she had done every time she was there. Once again, she held Anna's hand and rubbed it gently.

"Kristoff's gone to talk to his family," she started. "He's bringing Grand Pabbie here. He'll help you; I'm sure of it. I mean, he's a Troll with magic powers. He has to know what to do..!" The young queen resisted the urge to add 'hopefully'. She had to be optimistic no matter what. "All of the people are here; our people... It's so hard seeing them suffering; and it's my fault once again. Seems like I am really not fit to rule; not if I keep putting everyone's life in danger," Elsa kept talking as if Anna was awake and listening; she had to talk to someone after all. "Your life in danger..." She muttered sorrowfully. For a second, the queen thought she felt Anna's hand squeezing her own ever so slightly; she stopped moving and waited for something to happen. After an unbearably long couple of moments, and after the young princess showed no sign of waking up or even moving, Elsa let out the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. "I guess it's better if you are not awake..." She whispered. "It is easier that way; for all of us..."

A/N: hallelujah; this chapter is finally over! :P Writing this was a nightmare! I was this close to just stop writing the whole story! But I like it too much to leave it like that... :P Anyways, I hope you guys like it! Please review :D xx